Matthew's Birth Story

Matthew Lonnie Peters was born May 29 at 11:31 AM at Woodwinds Hospital. He weighed 8lb 8oz and was 20.75 inches long.

I am now three weeks post-partum and am finally starting to feel more like myself. Being a first time mom, I did not know what to expect post-partum and was surprised by the amount of recovery that your body needs to heal after giving birth.

Other mothers and my midwife told me that my body would need time to repair itself after birth, but I wasn’t sure what that restoration would entail. There was part of me that suspected that because I sailed through pregnancy without incident that my labor and post-partum recovery would follow suit. For the most part, this has been true.

Allan and I chose the HypnoBirthing method as our approach to natural childbirth. HypnoBirthing is described on their website as “a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by self-hypnosis techniques. HypnoBirthing® provides the missing link that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing.” We took classes in February at Blooma, practiced affirmations and relaxation techniques nightly before bed, had a weekly Tuesday baby night that included one hour of labor and birthing practice and religiously performed daily perineum stretches. Suffice it to say, we felt completely prepared for delivery.

The following were our goals for labor and delivery:

1. To experience a quick labor and delivery with minimum discomfort and pain
2. To equip Allan with the tools necessary to be an amazing birth companion and partner
3. To bring Matthew into the world without the aid of pain medication or medical intervention
4. To avoid perineum tearing or the medical need for an episiotomy

At my 39 week midwife appointment, just two days shy of my May 19 due date, I was progressing nicely and my midwife suspected I would go into labor soon. The following Saturday, labor-like contractions began (surges to my fellow HypnoBirthing mommas). They were 8-15 minutes apart and lasted 1.5-2 minutes. However, 13 hours later they just went away.

My labor rested for one week and the following Saturday, 10 days past my due date, labor restarted. I awoke at 5:30 AM with a full bladder and upon returning to bed I felt a strong tightening in my lower back. The sensation was very similar to the surges I had felt the previous Saturday, but this time they were even more intense. I woke Allan up and told him that I thought I was in labor. After the previous week’s experience, Allan told me to try to lay down and get some more sleep. I then insisted that he wake up because I was having another surge.

Half an hour later, the surges were still 4-5 minutes apart and lasting 2 minutes. Allan called the midwife on call and she told us we could stay at home a bit longer. Allan quickly gathered the final items that we would need at the hospital and placed our suitcases into the car. At 6:30 AM we decided that it was time to go to the hospital and Allan called the midwife again to let her know that we were on our way. By 6:45 AM we were in the car.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I was admitted to the water birthing suite and my initial exam showed that I was already dilated 7-8 cm, but my water was fully intact. After the mandatory 20 minutes of fetal monitoring, I decided it was time to get into the water birthing tub.

Laboring in the water was amazing! The water was very relaxing and the surges were easily managed. A couple hours later, my water had not broken and I was getting anxious to meet Matt. I asked the midwife about our options for getting my water to break. She suggested that I take a bathroom break, have my water sack checked and consider having it broken. I agreed.

Upon her exam, she found that I was fully thinned and opened, but my water was still intact. I asked her to break my water. Upon rupturing my membranes and examining the amniotic fluid, the midwife found that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, which meant that I could not have a water birth because of the risk of meconium aspiration syndrome.

Soon thereafter, I felt the urge to breathe my baby down. In my opinion, this is one of the elements of HypnoBirthing (and regular delivery) that are the most elusive. I was determined to stick to my HypnoBirthing practice of birth breathing, but at first was not exactly sure how to effectively move baby down the birth path to crowning and delivery.

The midwife suggested that I move from the bed to the toilet and use it as a birthing stool to better engage gravity. Allan stood in front of me and I leaned on his stomach as I bared down while breathing through each surge. It was an amazingly powerful feeling to be held by and to in turn hold my husband as we worked together to bring our baby into the world.

I soon felt a change in my birth path sensations and decided to check the progress myself. To my delight and amazement the head of my baby greeted me.

I quickly moved to the bed to deliver Matt. At this point, my surges switched from lasting 2 minutes each with 1-2 minutes between to lasting 45 seconds each with 2 minutes between. I found this to be quite frustrating because at this point I was super excited to finally see my baby face to face and the switch of the surges delayed the progression of his birth.

However as with most HypnoBirths, time distortion had set in and before I knew it Matt was crowning and entered the world with a vociferous cry. The concern over meconium aspiration syndrome was unnecessary and Matt was moved to my chest immediately for bonding. Our little baby was in our arms at last – the wait was over. The moment that we first saw each other will be fused in my mind for the rest of my life.

By and large, I feel like we accomplished all of our goals for labor and delivery:

1. To experience a quick labor and delivery with minimum discomfort and pain. I was able to manage each surge with peace and grace. My labor and delivery were calm and quiet aside from the occasional midwife encouraged grunt during delivery.
2. To equip Allan with the tools necessary to be an amazing birth companion and partner. Allan was calm, collected and assertive during labor and delivery. He was able to anticipate all of my needs and quickly adapted as labor progressed.
3. To bring Matthew into the world without the aid of pain medication or medical intervention. Through HypnoBirth breathing techniques, an amazing birth companion, and a great medical team I was able to have a natural birth free of pain medication and unnecessary medical interventions.
4. To avoid perineum tearing or the need for an episiotomy. I did not experience any tearing. I walked away from delivery with a small labial abrasion, similar to a rug burn, along with normal post-labor labial swelling that was most likely caused by the birthing of Matthew’s shoulders.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with our labor and birthing experience and would definitely recommend HypnoBirthing to any expecting mommas out there looking for a birthing method.

Pregnancy Diet Changes

A lot of people ask me how pregnancy has impacted what I eat - Do I have crazy cravings? Is my appetite insatiable? Do I eat things that I did not pre-pregnancy? 

Overall, I have not made any significant changes to my eating habits. Yes, sometimes I do tend to indulge a bit more than I did pre-pregnancy - i.e. chocolate, dessert, fancy brunches, etc. However, I think that has more to do with a change in mindset from pre-pregnancy trying to loose fat/build muscle to trying to maintain a healthy weight throughout my pregnancy. The following are some of the changes that I have made to keep myself healthy during pregnancy and ensure that my little one receives the best nutrition possible: 

• Eat when I am hungry - usually 5-7 small meals per day consisting of protein, fruits & veggies, complex carbs and healthy fats
• Add more complex carbs to my diet - 4-5 servings per day during pregnancy, compared to 2-3 servings pre-pregnancy
• Enjoy more organic produce and meats rather than conventional options
• Eat a wider variety of produce and meats
• Add more plant-based fats to my diet, including coconut oil and butter
• Eat at home more frequently while making very healthy choices when away from home

One thing that I have been craving recently is crudites with Cayenne Tahini Dressing from Kristen's Raw. This yummy, creamy, and spicy dressing is perfect when paired with cucumbers, red pepper and baby carrots.

Young Thai Coconuts

During my pregnancy I have been LOVING coconut water! I usually purchase it at the co-op in 34 ounce containers, but was looking for a change so I decided to pick up TWO young thai coconuts and enjoyed every last sip.

Coconuts have been generating a TON of buzz lately for their multitude of health benefits, some of which include:

• Helps with heart disease prevention
• Contains anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties
• Promotes weight maintenance (some people boast that daily consumption of 2-3 TB of coconut oil generates noticeable fat % loss)
• Coconut water is a natural isotonic beverage filled with electrolytes (think nature's Gatorade!)
• Coconut meat is an excellent source of medium chain fatty acids, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals

At first, opening a young thai coconut might seem a little intimidating, but they are much easier to open than a regular, brown-husked, coconut. Below you will find the steps to getting at the delicious raw coconut water and meat. Also, check out on this a great video by Kristen at Kristen's Raw.

It is important to note that it can be very difficult to find organic young thai coconuts at a local grocer and the best way to obtain them is to purchase them in bulk online. Most of the conventional young thai coconuts that you will find at your local grocer have traveled a long distance to get there and have most likely been dipped in a preservative to keep them fresh during their long voyage. The verdict is still out on whether or not the preservatives can actually penetrate the hard husk of the coconut making its way into the flesh and water. Needless to say, it is a good idea to enjoy young thai coconuts in moderation.

Step 1: Selecting you delicacy

Which one should I choose? For me, this is the most intimidating step of the process. In general, all young thai coconuts look very similar and only vary slightly in shape and size. The exterior size of a young thai coconut does not directly relate to the interior size nor water content of the coconut. So, my advice is not to fret and simply pick one that is free of cracks, mold, and soft spots, as these are indications of spoilage. 

Step 2: Prep the coconut for opening

Using a sharp chef's knife, remove the white outer flesh from the top "cone" of the coconut. The idea is to remove as much of the soft, white flesh as possible without cutting into the hard brown husk. I do this by running my knife from the tip of the coconut out towards the edge of the cone shape.

Step 3:  Open the coconut!

Do not use your chef's knife for this step - you could ruin it! Using the but end of a cleaver assertively pound the cleaver straight down into the husk of the coconut that you exposed in Step 2. Do this working in a circle formation around the tip of the coconut's cone, about an inch or two from the outer edge of the coconut's cone. Ensure that you keep your other hand clear of the cleaver, as you probably want to keep all of our fingers! Also, be forewarned that if your coconut contains a lot of water, it may spit at you as you complete this step. 

Step 4: Enjoy!

Gently peel open the top of the coconut and dump the yummy water into a glass measuring cup. As you can see in the photo from Step 3, my young thai coconut yielded 2 cups of delicious coconut water. Use a large spoon or fruit scooper to remove the young thai coconut meat.

Please note that young thai coconuts are highly perishable and it is possible that even though your coconut did not show any external signs of spoilage, it could be bad. The best way to check for spoilage is to look at the coconut water and see if it has a purplish tint. Coconut water should be clear or slightly cloudy. If in doubt, try a sip! Your mouth will let you know.

I quickly drank my coconut water and used the meat to make a wonderful tropical smoothie and some hazelnut ice cream.

Food Journal...

It's been a long time since I have posted my food intake for the day and figured that today would be a fun day to give you an update on what I have been consuming as a pregnant clean eater!

Today was an interesting food day because I am working from home and have choir practice tonight...

Pre-breakfast: 1 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate SuperFood + 1/2 c homemade unsweetened vanilla cashew milk + 1/2 c water

Iced Vanilla Americano: 1 shot espresso (made with my new Nespresso Citiz) + cold water + splash vanilla cashew milk

Breakfast: 3 egg whites + chicken sausage + 1/3 c oats cooked with 1 1/4 c water + 1 T chia seeds + 2 T ground flaxseed + 2 T wheat germ + 1 tsp cocoa powder topped with 1/2 T homemade coconut butter

MidMorning Snack: 1 slice Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast + homemade raw almond butter + 1/2 c chocolate pudding

Lunch: Fridge clean out smoothie - I rummaged through the fridge and grabbed everything that looked like it needed to be eaten soon and threw it into the VitaMix: 1 small orange + 1 small mushy apple + brownish banana + leftover young thai coconut meat + leftover young thai coconut water + spinach + vanilla protein powder + ice

This made a HUGE smoothie... I drank 3 cups of it and put 2 cups in the fridge to have with my MidAfternoon snack. Look at how BRIGHT green it turned out!

MidAfternoon Snack: No Bake Nut Butter Energy Bar (from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook) + the rest of my fridge clean-out smoothie from lunch

Supper: I will be eating around 7 PM when I get home from choir practice and will most likely have 3 scrambled egg whites + chicken sausage + 1 slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast - this tends to be our go-to meal when I have choir and we don't have leftovers in the fridge

Evening Snack: I usually get hungry around 8:30 PM and have a small snack. I made raw Hazelnut Gelato from the Ani's Raw Food Kitchen cookbook and will most likely have 1/2 c of it before HypnoBirthing practice, which we do nightly

Pregnancy Update: Belly Pics

This morning I had my 28 week midwife check-up and everything went very well. The little mister seems very happy and is in a good position for this stage of pregnancy (head down). His heart rate ranged from 138-146 bpm and he was extremely active while I waited for my appointment. I am still measuring a little ahead (29.5 wks); however, this measurement is well within the normal range. My weight increased 4 lbs in the last 4 weeks, which is normal at this stage of pregnancy.

Today was also the dreaded 1 hour glucose tolerance test. I was given a half liter bottle of funky lemon lime glucose water to drink and then I waited an hour prior to having my blood drawn. I was a little nervous about drinking the glucose water after reading the ingredients on the nutrition label: purified water, 50g dextrose, citric acid, natural and artificial flavoring, sodium benzoate .1%. However, for me, the risk of having untreated gestational diabetes far outweighed the risk of the test.

During my wait I did some work and had my regularly scheduled appointment. After the hour was up, the lab drew my blood and tested it right away so that I could find out the results before I left. The goal of the test is for your blood sugar to be below 140 (some practitioners use 150). A normal fasting blood sugar level is 83 and most people are at 100 after a meal. My blood sugar after a breakfast of egg whites and oatmeal along with the glucose drink was 81! It just goes to show that clean eating and exercise really go a long way in ensuring optimal health and resilience.

I go back for my next appointment in 2 weeks.

Here are some long overdue baby belly progress pics from the last few months...

November 28, 2009

January 4, 2010

January 15, 2010

January 29, 2010

January 30, 2010

This is a little sneak peak of the nursery...

February 17, 2010

The Third Trimester Begins...

... this Wednesday!!! The homestretch is here.

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately. As you can imagine, our lives have been a whirlwind of baby prep lately. Allan jokes that I am full into nesting mode.

A month ago, we made the decision to cloth diaper, so I have been working on acquiring our stash from online retailer sales, online clearance outlets, Peapods (a local toy and baby care shop), diaperswappers.com, and the Baby Center Diaper Swapping community. For the newborn stage, we will be using indian cotton unbleached prefolds and misc PUL covers, although we do have some Grandparent-friendly small bamboo fitteds and small FuzziBunz. I am almost finished with the newborn stash, but am interested in acquiring a WAHM wool cover or too for this stage along with some flannel liners for the meconium stage along with any bouts with diaper rash.

We are anticipating a larger baby at birth, because I have measured two weeks ahead at my last 2 appointments (20 weeks and 24 weeks) and my husband and I were both larger and LATE babies. Allan was a whopping 10 lbs and 4 weeks late and I was 9.5 lbs and 2 weeks late. So, at my appointment on Monday (28 weeks), if I am still measuring ahead they will schedule another ultrasound to see how big this little guy really is. I kind of hope that we will get to go and see him again, as ultrasounds are completely amazing experiences!

But I digress... back to the point that I was trying to make: little baby Peters will most likely not fit into the small/infant diapers for long and will be able to move into the one-size BumGenius (3.0 and Organic AIO), GroBaby and Swaddlebees diapers that I have been slowly acquiring. Do any of you cloth diaper? If so, do you have any tips for a first-timer? What is your favorite diaper? Any tips and recommendations would be VERY helpful!

I would like to take a pic of my stash to post here for feedback and ogling! Look for that in an upcoming blog post!

We have also checked the following items off of the baby list:

1. Nursery furniture purchased and put together
2. Diaper stash prepped (all natural-fibered items washed 5 times and the rest washed once)
3. On the waiting list of an AMAZING Day Care that is spanish immersion, serves organic/whole grain foods, cloth diapers and is located near our house
4. Registered for hypnobirthing classes that start next Tuesday at Blooma
5. Baby showers scheduled and registries complete (Mar 13 in Albert Lea and April 3 in Eagan)
6. Play room cleared out and ready as a "blank slate"
7. Working out 3-4 days per week (at least one cardio day, one weightlifting day and one yoga day)
8. Car seat purchased (Graco SnugRide 35)
9. Stroller purchased (Baby Jogger Select)
10. Keeping all meals CLEAN and eating every 3 hours (protein + complex carbs + fruit/veggie + fat)

I hope that you have an amazingly productive, clean and healthy week!

It's a...

... BOY!

You read that right, we are expecting a baby boy in May! We are very excited and cannot wait for his arrival.

I am still feeling great and have a ton of energy. My midwife says that I am gaining an average amount of weight (14lbs at 21 weeks) and should keep up the prenatal yoga to prepare for delivery, but should also up my cardio to get my heart pumping more often. At my last appointment, I was measuring about a week and half ahead, which could mean that we are having a big baby... This doesn't surprise me as Allan was a 10lb baby (4 weeks late) and I was a 9lb baby (2 weeks late) - I can handle it.

We are deep into nesting mode around here. Mister (baby) Peters' (name to be revealed next week along with his ultrasound pictures) room is painted a nice pastel green, his crib sheet set is purchased, and his crib, bookcase and dresser are waiting in his room to be assembled. Pretty soon, the room that used to be Allan's office will look like a nursery.

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement throughout the events that my family has been through in the last year. You mean the world to me!

Prenatal Yoga

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post. I apologize for my absence; however, one of my New Year's resolutions is to be more active on my blog on at least a weekly basis.

My holiday sabbatical was extremely eventful and for the most part very enjoyable. Allan and I...

• Were guests at 4 Christmas celebrations and spent a lot of time with all sides of both of our families.
• Attended several Holiday church services, I even sang Breath of Heaven on Christmas Eve during the lighting of the candles at our evening candlelit service.
• Started our nesting journey as we await the birth of our little gift, including painting the baby's room and the entire basement (family room, office, exercise room, and stairway) along with purchasing a bunch of furniture, some of which is still in boxes awaiting assembly.
• Mourned the unexpected passing of my dad's brother, Larry, who was tragically taken from us in a car accident.
• Went to the 20-week ultrasound and found out the sex of our baby! If you are friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, you already know if we are having a boy or girl... if not, can you GUESS? I will reveal the answer later on this week!
• Celebrated the arrival of 2010 by going to bed at 10:30 PM, I'm pregnant for goodness sakes and could not keep myself awake to ring in the New Year.

During our nesting, my treadmill has tragically been banished to the far corner of the basement and then had miscellaneous items pilled up in front of it, making it completely unaccessible until further notice... So, my primary form of exercise has been Prenatal Yoga. I have both the Gaim Prenatal Yoga and Yoga Journal Yoga for your Pregnancy DVDs; however, my recent favorite has been Yoga for your Pregnancy. I really enjoy the flow and cues along with the variety of exercises and options.

In the next couple weeks, I plan to start Prenatal Yoga classes at Blooma, a local studio that specializes in Prenatal and Postnatal care.

In addition, we signed up for Hypnobirthing classes at Blooma that start in March. Blooma also offers Lamaze birthing classes; however, we decided to go with the Hypnobirthing classes based on the fact that Hypnobirthing mothers tend to have "shorter labors and significantly lower induction, epidural, and Cesarean rates"... and since we would like a natural birth, this will be a good tool to have when the contractions start and I hop in the water birthing tub! ;-) Have you had an experience with Hypnobirthing that you would like to share?